Antidiabetic effect of total saponins from Entada phaseoloides (L.) Merr. in type 2 diabetic rats.

BACKGROUND

The seed of Entada phaseoloides (L.) Merr. (Entada phaseoloides) has been long used as an effective herb for the treatment of Diabetes mellitus by Dai people, one of the Chinese ethnic minorities. Saponin is an abundant type of secondary metabolic products in the seed of this plant. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects of total saponins from Entada phaseoloides (TSEP) in experimental type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats.

METHODS

T2DM rats were induced by high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin (STZ). Then different oral doses of TSEP (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) were administrated to T2DM rats for 21 days. For comparison, a standard antidiabetic drug, metformin (200 mg/kg), was used as a positive control drug. Then the relative biochemical analysis and histopathological examination were made to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of TSEP.

RESULTS

TSEP dramatically reduced fasted blood glucose and serum insulin levels and alleviates hyperglycemia associated oxidative stress in T2DM rats. Moreover, a significantly hypolipidemic effect and an improvement in tissue steatosis could be observed after TSEP administration. Further investigations revealed a possible anti-inflammation effect of TSEP by examining serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP). The effects of TSEP exhibited a dose-dependent manner and were comparable to metformin.

CONCLUSIONS

Our present study demonstrates both hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities of TSEP in T2DM rats, which support its antidiabetic property. This work also implies a possibility that TSEP exerts its therapeutic effect through repressing chronic inflammation responses.